my dog ate my bag

Wyatt and I did a long run on tuesdayish... which was 13 miles in the chuckanuts in the wind and rain.  Then yesterday, in a fit of rage targeted at the weather, i decided to go run inside... on a treadmill.  I return home, to this.

yes.  wyatt ate part of my bag.  It's the part of my bag that i had treats in for our long run...  but more importantly, where i store all of my food for my long runs.  I've had this bag for a long time, and it's been with me for a lot of amazing runs.... and i've been slowly watching it disintegrate with the years and the miles... but i wasn't ready for this.  So, i'll sew a patch on, and hope that will do the trick.  But in the mean-time, here are some photos from my bag & i.

 

First long trip - PCT thru-run in 2008

last day of PCT Thru-run.... cold, hungry, and exhausted.  bag, still there.

bike touring over international boundaries

 Running to Stehekin in 2011

Crossing McCallister Pass

There are a lot more times i've had my bag with me... training runs, bike rides, hikes and the list goes on.

crap, i just looked outside and it's raining again.  stupid washington.

this will be brief

So, in an attempt to run in the Chuckanut 50k in March, I've started running a lot more then normal... and by normal i mean that i haven't run really at all since i started grad school.  Anyway, Wyatt and I went out to Blanchard Mountain in the Chuckanuts last week and we had a great time running all over the place.  Most importantly, we saw our first porcupine! Thankfully, I saw it first, and was able to get Wyatt on the leash before he wanted to go check it out.  After that we saw an eagle, and then Wyatt had his first encounter with horses.  The day before the run, we went birding out on Semiamhoo spit, which was awesome. We got to see some scoters, widgens, golden eyes and some other birds i now unfortunately forget.  The snowy owl still eludes me though, and I will go back on the search once it gets a little warm again.

PHOTOS!

trust me, there's a porcupine there... and it's really huge

Lizard Lake

view from semiahmoo spit looking south toward baker

Birding with Cece, Jake & Dave!

SCOTERS! and a golden eye

Back to the norm

This blog was originally started to discuss my life living in a national park and sharing the experience with all those who wanted to read.. Since I left NCI in August, my life has been kind of rough, but ultimately I returned to a city of 65,000 people where I can use a cell-phone whenever I want and visit a grocery store a few minutes from my house.  i can have take-out at my leisure and encounter a lot of people every single day.  At times it is still a little overwhelming, and I miss the simplicity of living in the mountains...at other times, it's really nice to be engaged in society and everything that's going on in the world.

But that's not what today's post is about.  Starting right now (at this very second), im going to go back to documenting my life outside, and really focus on getting outside again.  So, to start it off... Biking on the beach in Florida.

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I arrived in Florida on the 7th in order to start my annual east coast christmas pilgrimage and birthday tour.  Upon arrival, dad shared his dream of biking from St. Augustine Beach to Mantanzas Inlet on the beach.  We chose the 8th as our day and checked the tide tables and got rolling at noon.  The day was beautiful with the wind at our back and we started the 12 mile ride to Mantazas. 

Enjoy the photos

Start!

Dad cruising on the beach

Seagull attack!

No Hands!

Great Horned Owl Kicking it in the trees

 Made it to the end - Marineland.

i think it's time...

...to finally sign up for a 50k trail race...

i'm looking at a few in the early spring, with the ultimate goal in mind to run 50+ miles again this summer.  It's up for debate if i want to run competitively this summer.. and by competitively, i mean pay a crap load of money to run on trails with 100+ other people, when i could just go to the same spot the weekend before for free and by myself. 

i'm not ready for that kind of race yet... but i think i can buy into a 50k.  actually, i'd like to buy into a 50k.

A few events are catching my eye:



Chuckanut 50k - March 17th.  I think i'd rather run then graduate that day. im being honest.

Sun Mountain 50 K - May.  I've wanted to run this for the past 3 mays... and always find a good excuse not too (i.e. the pass just opened, and i'd rather go splitboarding... or the pass is still closed and im not driving 8 hours).  This year is the year.... unless I don't live here anymore.



anyway,  a lot to think about... and a lot to start running for.

Wyatt! Table Mountain Circumnavigation

As Frankie explained in an email to a friend today: "...in case you were wondering, Wyatt! is always written out with an exclamation point.   Steph feels that this is the best way to communicate how his name is pronounced."

This is true.  Even his dog collar has WYATT! on it. 

Back to Wyatt!  Sunday was his first ski tour... and what was supposed to be a mellow down in the back-country turned into a 7 mile 3000' foot day... not too shabby for a first timer.  He had an amazing day and just automatically picked up on how to be the best back-country dog ever.  Here are some photos from the day

 Wyatt! and Frankie talking about where to go next

 Traversing across Iceberg Lake

Wyatt coming to understand the concept of the skin track

Wyatt!

Okay.  If you follow my tracks up, you'll see a black dot near the top of the ridge.  That's Wyatt chasing me downhill

Snow Dog!

HeliOOOOOOOOOOOtrope

I'm not much for traditions, but I felt like visiting Baker on Halloween weekend for the 2nd year in the row as not a bad tradition to upkeep.  I left Bellingham kind of late and got to the trailhead around 11:45ish.  Last year when Frankie & I made the hike, i remember it being kind of a slog, so I had it in my head it would be around a 2 hour walk to snowline and then an additional hour of skinning.  However, this year, there were a few changes: 1.) I was in way better shape 2.) I wore my running shoes for the approach instead of my shitty snowboard boots. 

I made it up to Snowline in under an hour and started seeing the terminus of glacier extending off of Baker.

At around 5500'ish feet i could put my skis on and start the trek upwards.  Thankfully, i was not alone up there, and there were quite a few skin tracks already set and I could choose any direction I wanted.  I chose up, and away from the masses and was definitely not disappointed.  Heliotrope is pretty mellow terrain, so I was pretty happy when I found one little steep section lasting for maybe 100'.    Clouds kept rolling in and out, so visibility was pretty crappy, but it was fun just hanging out on top, listening to music and just being alone in such an amazing place.  I took one lap and then was back at the car by 3pm.  Not a bad day at all!

 Snowline!

That way please!

Cloud layer looking toward Canada

Volcano!

Good day!

Thanks Heliotrope! I'll see you next year!

jeeze

just applied to my first job since 2009.  I had a brief stint with trying to work at REI. 

Anyway, just weird trying to re-enter the workforce while also trying to do something completely different then I've ever done before.  So... resume 1... done and sent.  Now, i just need to fill out some stuff for the park service, apply for a curriculum writers position in Seattle and a program manager job out in Yellowstone.  To put it simply... i have a lot of options that take me a lot of places.  Hopefully, they allow dogs.

Wyatt

So, if you haven't heard by now... Frankie & I are the proud owner of a 80 pound chocolate lab named Wyatt. He's amazing. I have a lot of pictures on my iphone, which i display to anyone that wants to look. I'll put together a Wyatt photo shoot on this blog shortly. But I wanted to capture this thing that Frankie sent to when we were corresponding to the folks that put him up for adoption:

"We believe he is a purebred, but don't have any papers for him. We got him to train for drug detection work, but he prefers getting petted to searching. He is a very sweet dog and just wants to be with people. He is current on shots and was recently neutered - no behaviour or medical issues that we know of."


after 3 days with Wyatt... it's safe to say that he prefers petting immensely over any other activity.

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday!!

Saturday night Steph Abegg will be speaking up at the institute and sharing some of her amazing photos taken at night, and also taken on some of her climbs. So, if you're looking for something to do, come on up!




Also, in other news... grad school is kicking my ass... so i don't have much to report on my life here except that I read a lot. I will get some photos up from my Baker adventure last weekend. That was a good one!

water

so, i'm at this kitchen table listening to droplets of water leak from the faucet. I swear, i've turned it all the way off, but it still keeps leaking. As I'm listening to the droplets of water hit the bottom of the sink, I'm trying to come up with a curriculum on water. When you get down to it, water is a pretty broad topic, and slightly vague. For example, imagine you sit down next to a loved one, and ask "tell me about water." Where do you even start? I'm not a chemist, biologist or even a hint of scientist. I do have a degree in Political Science, but I dont think that counts... unless we talk about the famed "Water Wars" and how water is a limited resource. But really, what is water beyond the famed chemical compound of H2O?

Water is known as one of the keystones for life... but why? really, i'm asking you, i need to know the answer for this curriculum. I know I need it... I know my body is made up of it... but why? It's always here, or at least in the PNW, it's always here. It's locked in the glaciers, the snow, the moss, the trees, the slugs... it's always here. But what else is there to it? What would make people WANT to LEARN about water? Is it fun to play in? Is it fun to try to capture things that live in it? Is it fun to lay in it? Is it fun to watch the light refract on it? Is it fun to hold your breath while your eyes are open and watch a different world appear?


What is water? It's weird to think of a word that has far more meaning then its 5 letters lead you to believe.

procrastination

in my spare time i do some consulting work. while consulting and typing and thinking, i give my mind a break and spend time on the interwebs... also, while consulting i listen to music really really loud, since for some reason i work better under deafening conditions.

two birds one stone - i found this. good song, good redhead, good live, good source of distraction

raquette lake

I've been here for 10 days already with 4 to go. It's been a great trip, and no complaints at all to be had. I've been serenaded by loons on more then one occasion, and have already logged nearly 60 miles in my running shoes. We built one new trail (about 1/2 mile long) and then revamped a new one with two more days of trail clearing ahead of us. We made it through "the storm" and a few cocktail hours. Tonight we venture south for a concert by one of the piano greats - Elton John. Honestly, nothing could ever be more amazing then this place. Also, as an aside i got an iphone and then promptly downloaded the app "ibird" to help me identify more easily a lot of the birds i encounter on a daily basis. Since we got here, we've identified:

Common Mergansers
Red Shouldered Hawk
Kingfisher
Red Throated Hummingbird (female)


Here are some photos i've taken over the past 10 days.

hanging out with the band

Golden Standard of safety: 3 wheeler, chainsaw (not tied down) & loping shears (pointy side up)

amazing woodwork

guideboat views

happiness

smiling

this song makes me smile... even when my flights have been continuously canceled and i'll be sleeping on the floor of an airport this evening. tomorrow is always another day.

something to remember

wilderness is more then a hunger for what is always beyond reach: it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth which bore us and sustains us. the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need - if only we had eyes to see

- ed abbey

today begins my 3 week journey going everywhere except "home." Seattle - raquette lake - portland - sophia's wedding - ELC - east side - bellingham.

minus porland and the wedding, all of those places i listed above have been considered (or will be considered) home to me at some point in my life. I kind of feel like i'm going on tour... maybe should go to VT for a few days too just to make it all encompassing. Anyway, i'll post as I can while in upstate, and i'll fill you in on some other fun stuff (i.e. run to stehekin) when i can force myself to sit down for more then 5 minutes.

Living outside will slowly be transitioned to "trying to learn how to live in a city again"

moving out and up

in the process of packing, i came across two notes I have hung onto for varying amounts of time. I want to share them with you since they made me laugh:

4/12/08:
Stephanie -
we care for you, and did not want you to re-injure yourself. But we warned you it was a bad idea.
Doug & Stew

August 2010:
Steph B
I hope your hike up desolation was awesome! you are such a tough ass. You can always jog a mile or two of the hike for funsies. I got no words of wisdom for you, but enjoy the freezing cold dips in the creek at perry and watch out for stinging nettles on the way to Stillwell. Oh, and fear not, you may enjoy the switch backs leaving stillwell up to the Pass. I truly hope you enjoy this, although somewhat leisurely, time in this place you love so much. See something new, and know that a lot of folks, myself included, admire your tenacity.
CeCe


hearts & stars friends. I'll be back in the land of cell service starting in September... but before then, i'll be in upstate new york for 2 weeks thinking, enjoying, running, swimming and laughing.

running saved my life

for those who have known me for 10 years, you would recognize that this is a true statement. For those that haven't... just imagine someone that would watch tv or read and not really venture outside often. When I started running, i was in a super shitty relationship and my only way to get out was to "go for a run." after a while of claiming running, i actually started running. First just a few miles, and then more and more and more. Running helped me get the confidence I needed to get out of said shitty relationship and move on with my life in a healthier fashion.

i began to run in a few different races around town including the catamount weekly 5k and whatever other random races VT had to offer. A few years down the road I found myself entering my first triathlon (I came in last) and then running my first marathon.

After moving out to Washington I found a new form of running, long distance trail running followed up by self-supported over-night trail excursions. Both types of adventures changed my life, and continue to have a powerful impact on me even now... nearly 8 years after my first legitimate running shoe purchase.

On Wednesday Tanya, Gretchen & I left the Cascade Pass and ran to Stehekin. 6 hours and 20+ miles later, we landed at the bus stop and were on our way to the campground and dinner. The next day we headed back to highway 20 via McCallister Pass where we passed through wildflowers and burns to finally find ourselves at the end of a 2 day journey. I remember walking out on highway 20 by myself, with no cars to be seen or heard. No one else was there, except me. I realized at that moment the impact that running has had on my life, and how it's time that it should take a much stronger focus. more adventures, more sweat, more exhaustion and more peacefulness will occur in the next days, weeks, months & years of my life solely due to the shoes I will have on my feet and the places I will go. Even 8 years later, running still has saved my life and continues to offer change and passion that we all so desperately need.

Chelan

So, after I got off the boat from Stehekin, I walked 6 miles with a pie in my hands, since I could not get picked up hitch-hiking... which was pretty annoying. The good part was that I hadn't talked to anyone in about a week, so the 1.5 hour walk gave me time to talk to my parents & frankie. good deal. Once I reached my destination, the bachelorette party began. One of my good friends, Sophia, is getting married this September so about 20 girls descended onto the desert town of Chelan to celebrate. We spent most of our days by the pool catching up with each other, reading and drinking sangria, margarita's, mimosa's and water. At night we'd all hang out at the house, eat dinner and have our own dance party. We did actually go out one night in the raging bar scene of downtown Chelan... but we pretty much just danced with each other in the obligatory circle that girls some how always form.

It was a great time, and I was really excited to have the opportunity to catch up with everyone I used to see each day in Seattle that I haven't seen in over a year. Oh, it was also 90 degrees and sunny every day to. yes! Also, if you ever want to hear a fun story, ask me how i got back home. If you remember from the previous post, i hiked to stehekin then took a boat to Chelan. it was fun.

Porch sunset view

Dressed up for neon night... heels & make-up!

Girls!

girls in bikini's everywhere

where we stayed.

Stehekin

So a week or two ago I went to Stehekin to shadow the interp rangers that work down at the Visitors Center there. Stehekin is a pretty awesome place for the following reasons:
1) they have a bakery
2) the shuttle bus stops at the bakery
3) you can only get there by foot, boat & sea plane
4) the full-time resident population is about 85
5) in the summer, the population is about 200 with park employees
6) it's on a lake

and the list goes on. I was really lucky to be able to hike in on a beautiful trail and then camp out on the front lawn of one of the park houses in a hammock. Also, cell phones don't work so people will go around and make plans during the day for an evening camp fire or get together to watch the stars and everyone is always invited. The community there is amazing and the people that make it up are unique and fantastic individuals. I really want to go back to Stehekin (and I will next week), but I hope next time I go and can stay for a while longer and explore more of its surroundings. I was there Tuesday evening through Thursday afternoon, when I departed on a 55 mile boat ride to the Town of Chelan carrying an apple pie. More on that in my next post. Enjoy the photos

Ranger Dork

Ranger Keith & I went canoeing one morning during "work"

Flowers!

View from my hammock

Trail hiking to Stehekin

please hit the pause button

so. somehow, it is now august 7th... tomorrow will be the 8th or 9th day in a row I have worked.

quick updates
i went to a town on a lake
i went to a bachelorette party
inaugurated some junior rangers
gave my first evening program to 75 people!!
hiked around with some adults


more photos and stories later... all in all. amazing

Rewind

A weekend or two ago Frankie & I went climbing in Mazama. It was a ton of fun, even though the first day we got rained on... but the second day we did an 11 pitch climb called Prime Rib (5.8 - 5.9) on the Goat Wall. it was a ton of fun, and it was great to get out climbing again. We had some amazing views of the Methow Valley, and I remembered some of the fun things i'm scared of: tiny ledges with big drops, cruxy moves with a gigantic drop below and super exposed climbs. Still working on my fear of falling... not heights, but falling. It's weird. Anyway, here are some fun shots from Frankies camera.

saturday smiles once it stops raining... and frankie leads a 10b

views from the sunday climb up goat wall

tiny ledges! this was not
staged, i really did not want to be any further from the wall

AHHHH!!! STAGED PHOTOS!!!

relief at the top!